174737: Ruling on writing the name on the grave in case of necessity

Some people write the name of the deceased only on the grave, so that it may be known when visiting it, because there are so many graves and they all look alike, and it is not possible to know the grave except by writing the name on it. Is it permissible to do that or not?.

Praise be to Allaah.

The basic principle is that writing on the grave is haraam
and is not permissible. See the answer to question no.
9986.

But some of the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) are
of the view that it is permissible to write the name only in case of
necessity.

It says in al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (32/252): The
fuqaha’ also differed with regard to writing on the grave. The Maalikis,
Shaafa‘is and Hanbalis are of the view that it is makrooh to write on the
grave in all cases, because of the hadeeth of Jaabir who said: The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade plastering over graves,
sitting on them, erecting structures over them and writing on them. The
Hanafis and al-Subki among the Shaafa‘is were of the view that there is
nothing wrong with writing on it if there is a need for that so that the
location will not be lost and so that the grave will not be treated with
disrespect. End quote.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
(The issue of) writing on the grave is subject to further discussion. There
is nothing wrong with writing which is intended only to confirm the name and
indicate that this is a grave. As for writing which is similar to what was
done during the Jaahiliyyah, such as writing the person’s name accompanied
by a eulogy, stating that he did such and such and other words of praise, or
writing lines of poetry – this is haraam.

That includes what some ignorant people do, namely writing
Soorat al-Faatihah, for example, or other lines on a stone that is placed on
the grave. All of that is haraam and the one who sees it in the graveyard
should remove this stone, because this comes under the heading of evil that
must be changed. And Allah is the source of strength.

End quote from Sharh Riyadh as-Saaliheen

Shaykh Hamad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Hamad (may Allah preserve him)
said: But is it permissible to do that (putting the name on the grave) as a
sign if the family of the deceased cannot put a marker on it because there
are so many graves and there is no way to tell them apart except by means of
writing? Some of the scholars are of the view that that is permissible and
that if only the name is written, there is nothing wrong with it, so long as
no other marker will serve that purpose. And that is because there is a need
to know the grave of the deceased.

It is proven in Sunan Abi Dawood that the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) put a rock at the head of
‘Uthmaan ibn Maz‘oon (i.e., on his grave) and said: “So that I may know the
grave of my brother thereby, and I will bury near him those who die of my
family.”